Plantpod - Allotement in a Box

As seen on the Alan Titchmarsh show - the plantpod is a unique all you need kit of an allotment in a box!

• - Unique extruded trough design
• - Three times lighter than any other
• - Proven horticultural outcomes
• - A full integrated gardening system
• - Mobile and easy to assembly / disassemble
• - Suitable for all - schools to seniors!

About Plantpods 

Plantpod has designed and manufactured the first extruded garden trough in the UK horticultural business. It has the design registration no 4017479 in the UK and a patent pending in the US. The standard length is 36” (920mm) and it is one third of the weight of competitive troughs when filled of the same length.  A four trough weatherproof wooden stand and a wall stand holding four troughs has been designed and manufactured in order to securely hold and present the troughs to the user. A range of complimentary fittings for this system have been designed and manufactured. The strap line ‘An allotment in a box’ has been registered as copyright. The concept is a complete gardening system, not a collection of gardening products.

Third age, disability and infirm gardening

Inspiration 

While working on designs for equipment for use within NHS Innovations, Keith Gibson, the designer of the Plantpod, came to be involved with the design of equipment for people with infirmities and disabilities. One clear problem was the lack of provision for this group of  gardening facilities, as opposed to landscaping, (the two are quite separate but often confused with each other). The therapeutic and wellbeing advantages, which actual gardening brings is as well documented as it is obvious.  The main problem is of course that both these groups, including the less able of all ages, have a similar difficulty, - reaching the ground. Apart from equipment being adapted to perform some garden tasks such as weeding and lifting , the actual delight of handling plants; planting, pruning and general plant care is realistically, largely denied. It is after all this ability to get hands dirty with soil and participate in the whole planting and growing process which brings such joy and fulfilment to the average gardener.

There are also a great number of people for whom the provision of some facility to ‘grow their own’ would be hugely appreciated but for whom the tending and maintenance of a garden or allotment is impossible on grounds of either mobility or space. Many disabled, infirm and less able people are therefore being denied this simple pleasure and lose not only the therapeutic benefit which it brings but also the very important nutritional benefits of ‘growing your own’ as well.

The Problem 

A common solution has often been the provision of ‘raised beds’. Apart from often resembling wartime bunkers, their provision is more for landscaping than actual gardening. After all, the average wheelchair user can only reach the same distance as an able bodied person, about 75cm or 30”.  Anything beyond this cannot be cultivated by anyone who is sedentary or standing but not stretching.  The installation of such beds is also a major undertaking in both cost and build. Once installed they are there for a very long time, or until they become so unsightly, unsafe and unloved, they are removed. They certainly are not ‘gardens’ in any real sense of the word, and no actual gardeners seem to use them as ‘their’ space in which to grow plants or vegetables of their choice in a space of their own. This ‘collectivisation’ of gardening is at variance with what makes gardening so rewarding (and frustrating) i.e. the ability to experiment, to succeed (and fail) with individual planting schemes for colour, smell, foliage, cropping and all the other rewards which this activity brings to so many people the world over. Furthermore there needs to be a real sense of independence in that if constant assistance is required to enable people to enjoy gardening, whether it be lifting, carrying and planting then a great deal of the pleasure of self achievement is necessarily lost, however well meaning that assistance may be.How then to make this simple abundance of pleasure available to those who are not then able to enjoy it because of restrictions of movement? The first solution was instead of making people adapt to the garden, the garden would need to be adapted to the user.

The Solution 

If gardening was to be carried out above ground, then all gardening will have to be carried out in some form of containers. The Plantpod container has been designed and developed specifically to meet the needs of this group and at the same time to maximise the horticultural outcomes. Two factors affect trough design: the ratio of soil area to volume indicates the efficiency of the trough in holding water  and the capacity of the reservoir as a % of the total capacity of the trough.  The wind  is the main factor in evaporation, the less of the soil area which is open the better the trough is in retaining moisture. It has been estimated that a female wheel chair user has difficulty lifting and handling weights of more than 6.5kg. It was therefore prudent to make this the upper limit for a trough design. Wheelchair users seem to have difficulty working below 225mm and above between 1250 and 1500mm. (for the basis of this research all working dimensions were based on 160cm/5’3” (female users as this would determine the minimum size requirements.) The average working reach is between 500 and 750mm. 

The conclusion is that most current planters are very difficult in weight terms for the average disabled, infirm or elderly person to use and move. Only the ‘Plantpod’ will satisfactorily meet the handling criteria for these groups. However lifting issues are no different for the able bodied gardener and female gardeners in particular will be attracted to a ‘trough-lite’ concept. The Plantpod design enables them to be taken apart and ‘nested’.

Specific Details

The Plantpod trough itself, is an octagon, being 920mm long x 119mm (widest point)  x 119mm(deep). External dimensions with a 3mm wall thickness. This octagonal design while narrowing the surface area of soil on the top, enables a wider reservoir of soil which can retain moisture in the mid section. The top opening is 75mm wide. It is also more aesthetically pleasing since the tapered design avoids the brick like look of so many plastic troughs currently on the market. A secondary design merit is that this design ‘stiffens’ the 36” trough. A common fault with competitive long troughs is the opening of the side walls as the soil fills the trough and the lateral twisting caused by the contents distorting the thin perpendicular wall.

Additional empirical benefits

1. The free standing stand and wall growing method avoids water splashing in heavy rain and soiling plants. Lettuce can be cut in a clean condition
2. Snail infestation is much less obvious and snails are more easily seen and removed.
3. Rabbits seem to be lazy eaters and again crop reduction is low.
4. Loss of flower heads to mice and voles is lower than in nearby ground growing plants and low pots.
5. Fruit and plant damage by snails is low or non existent. They are easily seen to remove.
6. Critical ph levels are easier to maintain in individual troughs, and plants requiring differing ph levels can be kept adjacent which is not possible in the ground.
7. Colour schemes can be altered by simply moving the arrangement of troughs on the stand.